Graham, Washington - Two Dragons Karate

hadn't been taking a martial Art for a few years when I decided to go Look for a place to train. Being semi new to Washington I looked in the phone book and called a few places. In my teens I had paid 35 dollars a month for TKD. being 28 at the time I was looking I sounded suprised to hear that most schools charged a lot of money. Called a Place called two Dragons Karate in Graham, Washington. He said come on in. I asked about price on the phone but he wouldn't answer. So He told me when to come in and I did. I was thinking this must be the time his best students are there he must want to try to seem like areal good school by letting me see his best. Well I arrived at the Location a few days later and noticed everyone was wearing a different Uniform. I went to the front desk and told them I was here to talk to the instructor and I noticed my name was one of many in the appointment book. I also noticed everyone of the students had a swipe card to check into the class. Never saw that before. So the Instructor comes out and gives me a tour of the place showing me some moves and stuff and even takes me to the secret training room that only certain people can enter. Well then he sets me down in his office and explains the pricing plans. The Basic Program is about 88 dollars a month and you only get to go 1 or 2 times a week an you get the Black Gi but no guarentee when yo will get black belt, Then we have the Black belt Program which is 150 a month and you get a red Top and Black pants and will have Black Belt in 2 years. The the Masters program you get a Red Black and white uniform and also access to the secret training room and got to train 5 days a week. I didn't really ask how mush that was because the 150 for the Black belt Program kinda blew me away. Well didn't get to see much of the class because the Instructor was showing me around and talking about all his accomplishments of things he had achived and he was 1st generation this and second that and this and that. But what I did see was a disaray of students in different color uniforms hearded onto a mat like cattle and all bunched up together like a cluster. No order at all and really loud music and some 14 year old Kid teaching class. I left that place and never returned. I was talking about the place later at the TKD school I go to know (They impressed me they talked aboout what the students had accomplished and not the Instructor) That the Insructor at TWO Dragons never got to Master Level. So it kinda makes me wonder how he can have a masters program but not be a master himself.

$160 is the national average monthly rate for 2x per week martial art training. Also, beware of self-proclaimed "masters". When they talk it is all discussion about "I, me and myself". I live a few miles from the Two Dragons Karate Do school and I heard that they have open sparring nights. You might want to try some 2 dragons on for size to see how they rate--it might be fun :). Master Perry used to be a student of my instructor Sifu (not master) Cliff Lenderman in the same part of South Tacoma/Puyallup, WA , so I kind of wonder what major transformation took place between then and now. http://www.lendermanacademy.com.

Master is a relative term--who decides what the qualifications of a master are? Do you do a death match? (get real) Do you point spar 40 people? (a game of tag with pads) Do you do the splits and 3 spinning back-flip rainbow kicks? (dojo ballerina moves) When does the insanity stop? There comes a time in life when you move from Fruit Loops and go with the steak, eggs and hashbrowns. Why not turn the ego down a couple of notches and go with Sensei/Sifu/Coach/Guru/Shihan/Instructor etc.? Your career won't change and you will probably gain more credibility and confidence from your students leading to more referrals and more business.

Set the facts straight...

"Master" Mick Perry (Tae Kwon Do & Hap Ki Do) has never trained under Sifu Cliff Lenderman (Martial Arts). Mr. Lenderman has been teaching Martial Arts for over 30 years now and has studied under Dan Inosanto (Kali & Jeet Kune Do), Ajarn Chai (Thai Boxing), Stephen Hayes (Ninjutsu), Francis Fong (Wing Chun), and Paul de Thouars (Silat). However there are other school owners who have Black Belts under Mr. Lenderman, but not Mick Perry.

Sounds like you had a bad experience, maybe even something to look into considering he guaranteed you black belt in a certain number of years depending on how much you pay. However, this is not a review. You didn't even train with them once, meaning you are not qualified to rate how good the training is.

It's entirely possible your ratings are correct even never having seen their training, but rumor, inference and prejudice are things we try to avoid when quantifying how good a school is.

Complaint about 2 Dragons Karate Martial Arts Academy

Approximately 3 and one half years ago I enrolled my granddaughter in 2 Dragons Karate Martial Arts Academy which serves Puyallup, Spanaway, and Graham, WA. At the time my granddaughter was very interested in learning karate and we signed a 3 year, paid in full contract. Unfortunately, the granddaughter lost interest after about 18 months. At that time I had a discussion with the owner and informed him she would not be returning to classes. He said that was unfortunate and I thought that was that. He did not say I needed to put that fact in writing and unfortunately 18 months later the original paid in full contract ran out. The contract then started automatically taking the monthly rate of $139 from my bank account. Unfortunately I donít monitor my bank statements as closely as I should and it took several months for me to question the new charges. I had a long discussion with the owner. He offered to let one of us attend classes but would not refund the money. ďThe contract is the contract.Ē I canít argue with that but I think it is unreasonable to be charged for classes they had been told and knew she would not attend. Live and learn. Always read contracts carefully and remember to cancel contracts with 2 Dragons Karate in writing. :icon_cry:

I have studied in Two Dragons Karate myself, for three and a half years. What may seem like a disorderly and unorganized thing to someone at first glance is simply because we get so used to what has to be done. Soke Mick Perry himself has complained about the size of our dojo and has wanted to expand for a very long time. As for a 14 year-old teaching class, more than likely it was the Leadership Program which teaches teens and adults how to be leaders and teachers, giving them the chance to lead what they have learned, it is not something that happens on a regular basis. I myself have taught classes and help constantly with our Sensei's, I am only a blue belt. The reason the program time differs is because the one that takes 2 years is private classes with Soke Mick Perry, who teaches people on a more personal level, while the other program takes 5 years because it is taught by other sensei's and is spaced out between 2-3 classes per week. Your pre-assessment on our system is poorly done since you have not truly looked into it, and your spelling is atrocious!
Don't talk about what you don't truly know!

Soke does, yes. He is a great trainer, when you do what he says. He knows how to teach, he knows how to get people going. Soke Mick Perry is the founder of our system, he's trained in Shoinryu Karate-Do and Hwa Rang Do. He has sensei's who have all worked under him that have also studied a myriad of other systems, all bringing different styles and teaching systems to the table. Soke knows how to instill someone with the training they need, by also having them do something important that many other dojo's don't teach, self-correction.

Soke does, yes. He is a great trainer, when you do what he says. He knows how to teach, he knows how to get people going. Soke Mick Perry is the founder of our system, he's trained in Shoinryu Karate-Do and Hwa Rang Do. He has sensei's who have all worked under him that have also studied a myriad of other systems, all bringing different styles and teaching systems to the table. Soke knows how to instill someone with the training they need, by also having them do something important that many other dojo's don't teach, self-correction.

Thanks for the reply. Does he also teach the submission grappling you offer?

I can't find any info on your web site (http://www.twodragonskarate.com ) about his background... so what is his martial arts background? Specifically please.